Auction revenue decline in 2019 leads to changes in revenue market share among the top 3 auction houses

Posted by Pi-eX Research on 9th Jan 2020

After a two year run from 2017 to 2018, auction revenue decreased in 2019 at each of the leading three auction houses.

Combined auction revenue at Christie's, Sotheby's and Phillips decreased by 15% in 2019 versus 2018, from $12.2b in 2018 to $10.4b in 2019:

Christie’s experienced the largest auction revenue drop from $6.3b in 2018 to $4.9b in 2019

With a smaller revenue contraction, from $5.2b in 2018 to $4.7b in 2019, Sotheby’s was able to gain market share versus Christie’s.

Phillips auction revenue also decreased from $800m in 2018 to about $740m in 2019, leaving the auction house still a far away third player.